HISTORY, ROMANCE AND...CATS!
Grace Elliot leads a double life as a vet by day and author of intelligent historical fiction by night. Grace is an avid reader and believes that smart people need to read romance - as an antidote to the modern world!
Grace is also obsessed by all things feline.

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Sunday, 23 August 2015

Musings on London's Urban Foxes

I live in suburban London. On Tuesday I went to the
shops and stopped on the corner of the street to speak to a neighbour. However,
our conversation came to an abrupt halt when a pair of juvenile foxes
ambled out of the garden to play on the road. Even though I’ve grown used to
seeing foxes at night, this brazen disregard for our proximity was surprising.

Foxes are an increasing problem in our cities, because
of the easy availability of food. Some misguided people deliberately feed the
foxes, whilst another subset of people leave food litter on the streets which
encourages not only foxes but also rats.

A History of Urban Foxes in London

Urban foxes are nothing new, but the high numbers are
exceptional. But believe it or not, many of these first foxes were deliberately
imported into London from Scotland or Wales. This was because in Victorian
times there was a ready market for the sale of foxes to supply the hunt.

If a wealthy landowner’s estate was low on fox
numbers, which made the foxhunt unsatisfactory, then a trip to London was the
answer. Live foxes could be purchased in bulk at Leadenhall Market, transported
to your estate and then released.

Victorian Leadenhall Market

A Most Unfortunate Fox

One exceptionally unlucky fox had an extremely
traumatic life. He was sold, released, hunted, and resold, not once, not twice,
but three times – and only met his death by the hunt on the fourth occasion.
The fox was identified by a slit ear and holes in the other ear which marked
him out as unique. He was repeatedly bought by the Duke of Grafton, but on
learning of this remarkable tale there were protests.

It was argued in the press that the fox had earnt the
right to be hunted no more.

“[His continued survival]…ought to have entitled him to the privilege formerly granted to a stag
who had been fortunate enough to escape from his royal pursuers.”

Truly Wild Foxes

The population of truly wild foxes in London started
to rise with the advent of the railways. The foxes followed the path cleared by
the rail tracks and the burgeoning road network, and found rich pickings in the
urban environment.

What constantly amazes me is that many people who put food
out for foxes are either own dogs or are dog lovers. Of course I’m a huge
animal lover and have nothing personal against foxes. However, feeding the
urban fox population is a huge mistake because it encourages them to breed.

The Deadly Threat of Lungworm

A larger fox population means a greater reservoir of
hosts for the deadly parasite, lungworm. This is a fox parasite, and when it
infects dogs can cause death. If lungworm goes untreated the dog develops vague
symptoms such as a cough or tummy upset. But far worse than this is that
lungworm interferes with blood clotting.

Seemingly healthy dogs can die in the space of 24
hours from a minor cut which refuses to stop bleeding. Or some dogs bleed
internally and collapse, much to the distress of their owner (who
co-incidentally may have been attracting foxes into the garden with food).

Avoiding Lungworm

If you are a dog owner then don’t encourage foxes. In
addition, to protect your pet take the following steps:

·Your vet can recommend a product licensed to prevent
lungworm. Use it regularly

·Don’t leave toys or water bowls outside. This is
because slugs and snails act as an intermediate host and have larvae in their slime.
Dogs can become infected by contact with the snail trail

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